MVRDV reveal integrated offices in new city center of Łódź, Poland

MVRDV’s new project, Fabryczna Offices, will house both office and retail space in the center of Łódź, Poland's third largest city. The firm's design draws inspiration from the city’s industrial textile heritage reimagined for contemporary use. The 13-floor building uses the distinct glazed brick and glass facade materials to signal both the past and the city’s future ambition of recent surrounding development.

The private green roof and public courtyard, by Dutch firm Lola Landscape Architects, are designed as a family of semi-public spaces with greenery and a large variety of vegetation and spaces for terraces and bikes. The building will also be located across the street from the newly developed railway station “Fabryczna”, and other local landmarks.

“This building will help to bring back more density and urbanity right in the heart of Łódź,” explains Nathalie de Vries, co-founder of MVRDV. “We have created with our design, an ensemble with a tower, referring in proportions to the mansions of the industrialists, surrounding a new public court."

The rounded plinth and tower are curved to create a series of smaller volumes which gives the project a more intimate scale, and also provides a more individual identity to future tenants. The courtyard has an opening towards the culture centre and a passage towards Kilinskiego Street with the intention to introduce a new walking route through the area.

In the future Fabryczna offices will connect to the Central station and other parts of the city through an underground tunnel. The project will break ground this summer with a completion date set for 2020.